The week just isn't complete without a visit from Louis.
Manu and Tim didn't come out with good focus. We had one good run in the 2nd quarter and played well for a bit in the 3rd but overall, we did not match their level of execution. Just an ugly, inattentive game.
If it happens again next game then there will be more legit reason for concern. We had a good run for the last couple weeks. Spurs teams always have letdowns after a good long streak.
Maybe things are back to normal?
The only thing you will see next game is another spanking....by the Pistons
You've been feasting on sorry as teams (like your own), that was the reason you won 4 straight games...No More!!!!
Real compe ion is next
The Spurs really don't have any room to be letting up, considering the hole they put themselves in with their defense. Then they went out again tonight and put themselves in another one in the first quarter.
Runaway Rockets blast Spurs
By Jeff McDonald
HOUSTON — The three-pronged tactic, as far as it applies to this Interstate 10 rivalry, had already been tried and found true once this season.
Spot the Houston Rockets a large, safe lead. Make them feel warm and cozy and confident. Then rip the proverbial rug out from under them.
The Spurs learned something Saturday about the strategy of playing with fire. It only works if you also play defense.
Luther Head, a replacement for injured star guard Tracy McGrady, scored a season-high 21 points to top a list of seven players in double figures for the Rockets, who routed the Spurs 103-84 at the Toyota Center.
For the first time in 29 meetings, the Spurs allowed the Rockets to pass the 100-point mark, ending a string of black-and-blue slugfests dating to March 17, 2001.
“Giving up 100 points to these guys isn't going to get it done,” Spurs forward Tim Duncan said. “We're used to playing in the 80s and low 90s and winning games like that.”
The blueprint for how the Spurs would like to play the Rockets came two weeks earlier in San Antonio. In that game, the Spurs closed with a 12-0 run, overcoming a 14-point deficit in the final 7:37, to win a 77-75 defensive battle.
This time, Houston was at 75 points before the end of the third quarter. The Spurs, meanwhile, were toast.
Matt Bonner had a season-high 17 points to lead the Spurs, who ended a four-game winning streak and missed out on a chance to move atop the Southwest Division for the first time this season. Duncan also had 17, but he needed 11 more shots than Bonner to get there, finishing 6 of 18 from the field.
The Spurs already had written the instruction manual on How To Cope With An All-Star (or two) out. The Rockets ripped a page right from it.
With McGrady sidelined for the second consecutive game, requiring another night off to nurse his sore left knee, Houston got scoring pick-me-ups from all over the roster, beginning with Head. And the Rockets defended, sinking their teeth into the Spurs from the opening tip and never really letting go.
The tone was set less than 10 seconds after the opening tap, when Houston's Ron Artest stepped in front of a Tony Parker pass and sashayed coast-to-coast for a dunk.
It continued throughout the game, as the Spurs (9-7) shot just 37.7 percent from the field. They also committed 14 turnovers, led by five from Manu Ginobili, leading to 24 points for Houston.
“Houston came out and was more aggressive than we were,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “They played a fine game for 48 minutes, as far as their aggressiveness and overall energy.”
Fifteen minutes into Saturday's rematch, during which the Rockets (11-6) played about as well as they could play, the Spurs were down by 19 and in rally mode again.
As they had two weeks earlier, the Spurs answered. They held Houston without a field goal over the final 5:37 of the second quarter, crawling as close as five points with less than a minute remaining.
Five possessions into the third quarter, the Spurs were within two, the flashbacks coming fast and furious for the Rockets. But that was as close as this game's comeback would go.
“We knew they would make a run,” said Houston's Shane Battier, who supplied 15 points off the bench. “I'm proud of how we responded.”
Little by little, Houston began to reinforce its lead. When Yao Ming hit a basket with 2:10 left in the quarter, the Rockets had pulled ahead by double digits again, 77-66.
This time, they wouldn't relinquish that cushion.
This time, the Spurs couldn't make them.
“They punished every mistake we made,” Ginobili said.
“After making such a big effort to come back, you don't have to be perfect, but you have to be close. Tonight, we were not.”
Last edited by duncan228; 11-30-2008 at 02:46 PM.
McGrady sits with sore knee against Spurs
Jeff McDonald
HOUSTON — Tracy McGrady's season on the injury report continued Saturday night, with the Rockets guard missing his second consecutive game with a sore left knee.
McGrady has been struggling with knee pain since the preseason. An MRI earlier in the week showed no damage to the knee, but McGrady said before the game against the Spurs it pained him enough that he will seek a second opinion.
Houston coach Rick Adelman, meanwhile, said he's frustrated by the nightly uncertainty surrounding McGrady's availability.
“This has been kind of going on all year, and I just have no idea,” Adelman said. “It's really out of my hands. The medical people and Tracy have to look at it and see how he feels. Right now, they want to wait.”
If given his druthers, Adelman said he'd prefer to shut down any injured player for a finite length of time, rather than deal with the daily drama of “will he, or won't he?” Though not specifically asked about the McGrady situation, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich agreed.
“I think it's much better if you know someone is going to be out ‘X' amount of time,” Popovich said. “You can plan for it, and change your rotation appropriately. That's much better than a day-to-day sort of deal.”
Hill OK: George Hill entered Saturday's game with a sore left shoulder, courtesy of two different collisions earlier in the week, but Popovich said he doesn't expect Hill to miss time.
“It's a little banged up,” Popovich said. “He's fine. It's not an injury, really. It's just a bang, a bruise, a nick.”
Barry out again: Houston's Brent Barry missed his second chance to play against his old team in the regular season.
Barry sat out with a strained right calf. He missed the Nov. 14 game in San Antonio with a sprained thumb.
I'll say, even though you went abit over the line with your previous comments about how the Spurs were raped and talking down on us Spurs fan I support your movement to kick SD's ass. lol
The guy is a complete jackass.
here ya goI actually read an article a few months ago a guy flew from Germany to England over an internet dispute and killed the guy.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/3080...ice-think.html
Remember when Devin Harris said Tim Duncan is nothing but a big cry baby
yeah, I was in mid-chubby over the win and the blood left my head.
spursdynasty is a face.
don't worry Spurs fans, the Nuggets will take care of the Sprockets tomorrow, well at least i hope they do
They didn't do a good job vs the Hornets
Some quotes from both sides in here.
Rockets Rout Spurs
HOUSTON, TX -- The Houston Rockets bounced back -- in a very big way -- from Wednesday's disappointing loss with a 103 to 84 thumping of the San Antonio Spurs Saturday night inside Toyota Center.
"It was a win we really needed to have after after the other night," said Rick Adelman after the game. "And, our guys really came out ready to play."
Seven Rockets players scored in double-figures; but, the star of the game was definitely Luther Head. Luther found out he was starting "right before the meeting"; and, he responded with a season-high 21 points (on 7 of 11 shooting from the field); four assists; five rebounds; and two steals.
After the game, Luther discussed his start.
"It was a situation that I have been put in this year, to have to be ready when my team calls upon me and today I was ready."
"Luther had a chance to start," said Adelman in the post-game press conference. "And, I just can't say enough about what he did. It just shows you how a guy has worked and continued to work when he stepped on the court and played forty-one minutes when he hasn't been playing at all."
Ron Artest set the tone of the game with a steal and a fast break dunk to put the Rockets on the scoreboard first with a 2 to 0 lead. The Rockets never trailed in the ball game.
The Rockets offense in the first quarter was free flowing and very effective. The Rockets scored a season-high 33 points in the opening quarter and shot a season-best 62.5% (15 for 24) from the field in the quarter. The Rockets are now 7 and 0 this season when shooting 50 percent or better from the field in the first quarter.
"Everybody came out ready to play," declared Yao Ming. "We played defense. We played on both ends -- offense and defense. We had a lot of ball movement and body movement. On the defensive side, we had a lot of communication. That's what we really need to do the rest of the season."
The Rockets (11-6) led the Spurs (9-7) 33 to 20 at the end of the first quarter; and, the Rockets increased the lead by as many as 19 points in the second quarter. However, the Spurs became more aggressive on defense and the Rockets' offense went stale and the Spurs closed out the second quarter with an 18 to 6 run to cut the Rockets halftime lead to just 56 to 49.
Spurs point guard Tony Parker scored 14 points in the first half and forward Matt Bonner came off the bench and added 12 timely first half points. Tim Duncan scored just two points in the first half on 1 for 9 field goal shooting.
"I played an awful game in the first half," said Duncan. "And, I couldn't hit any of my shots. I did a little better in the second half."
Duncan finished the game with 17 points; but, he made only six of his 18 field goal attempts.
The Rockets picked up the aggression in the third quarter and outscored the Spurs 28 to 21 in the quarter.
"Houston came out and was more aggressive than we were," said Greg Popovich, San Antonio Spurs head coach. "They played a fine game for 48 minutes, as far as their aggressiveness, and their overall energy."
The Rockets outscored the Spurs 42 to 24 in the paint; and, Rockets forward Shane Battier was very active scoring from the low post. Battier went to the post whenever he was guarded by a shorter Spurs' defender; and, he scored the majority of his 15 points from the block.
The Rockets led 84 to 70 after three quarters; and, the Spurs never pulled any closer in the fourth period.
Shane Battier summarized the Rockets' performance tonight.
"I'm proud of this team. I really am. You can't say enough about Luther Head. He hasn't gotten many minutes and comes in and leads us in scoring and gives us a huge spark. Chuck played unbelievable defense on Duncan tonight. It was really a team win; and, we all know that we let one get away from us against Indiana."
Look at Parker in mid season flopping form.
DD
Geez will you quit sucking off the Spurs fans for a minute?don't worry Spurs fans, the Nuggets will take care of the Sprockets tomorrow
This looks like a road production of Jesus Christ Superstar, or something.
then you wake up and realized you peed in your bed.don't worry Spurs fans, the Nuggets will take care of the Sprockets tomorrow
he seems to have gone of on a premature ejaculation spree ever since the Billups AI trade.Geez will you quit sucking off the Spurs fans for a minute?
Hopefully we can shut him up tmmrw.
If we lose we can about the Absence of T-Mac ;p
Geez will you quit sucking off the Spurs fans for a minute?
good luck tomorrow night.
I remember a Spurs victory over the Rockets in the Alamodome (circa 96-98), and some obese ghetto Rockets fan overheard me talking (I was about 12 or 13), and he said something to the extent of "You can talk all the you want once you replace the Taco Cabana banners with Championship ones." I laugh to this day; Houston and their fans
(For those that aren't familiar with the Alamodome, it used to have Taco Cabana and Express News banners hanging from the ceiling)
Last edited by SAtown; 11-30-2008 at 04:32 AM.
Why houston fans??? should be saying spurs players for not bringing their A game.
4 wins in a row...back to back...I almost felt a let down coming. No excuses. Mentally, we never got off the bus.
Yall beat us without parker and manu and we beat yall without drama queen tracy so its even.
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
